According to Beijing’s National Security Law in Hong Kong, the police detained reporters or former staff of Hong Kong’s last independent media. Computer and archive data were confiscated. Deputy Interview Director Chen Langsheng was also taken back to the police station for questioning and released. The “Committee to Protect Journalists” condemned the operation.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews)-In accordance with Beijing’s strict national security laws in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong authorities have once again cracked down on independent media and journalists conspiring to publish seditious publications.
In the past few hours, the police have detained at least six people who were associated or former collaborators with the news website Stand News for questioning. More than 200 police officers searched the newspaper’s headquarters and stopped the media’s operations. According to the National Security Agency, they held a court warrant to search the office of the online media. The arrested persons were described as having tactics such as editing and editing the media. important role”.
The arrested were three men and three women, ranging in age from 34 to 73 years old. They include former and current editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of “Stance News”, as well as pop star and democratic idol Denise Ho, former writers of the media. Others arrested include Margaret Ng (Margaret Ng), Christine Fang (Fang Minsheng) and Chow Tat-chi (Chow Tat-chi).
The Facebook page posted a picture of the police knocking on the door of Deputy Interview Director Ronson Chan’s house. He was released after being questioned, while others took away the computer and the box containing the archive material. The content of the post of “Position News” reads: “In response to the situation, Position News ceases to operate in real time.”
The day before the raid, Deputy Interview Director Chen Langsheng hosted the annual dinner of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) under his chairmanship. In his speech, he mentioned that the “Apple Daily” was closed. This incident “shaken” the entire Hong Kong. He finally emphasized that the city “always needs the truth” and “reporters (…) no matter how difficult the road ahead (Hong Kong Journalists Association) is, they will never fall.”
Earlier this year, hundreds of police raided the now closed offices of Apple Daily, a publication known for criticizing Hong Kong and Chinese leaders. Its assets have been frozen, high-level officials have been arrested, newspapers have been shut down, and only “Stance News” is the media close to the position of the democratic camp. In recent days, in court hearings, judges have filed new charges of “seditious publications” against Jimmy Lai and six other staff members of the Apple Daily.
The “Committee to Protect Journalists” condemned the arrests. Steven Butler, the committee’s Asian project coordinator, talked about the “public attack” on press freedom, which is already “tattered” in Hong Kong. At this time, China is using the Basic Law to strengthen the “open attack” against Hong Kong. In a few months, 155 people were arrested and more than 200,000 clues were provided to the police.
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